After amazing us last year with his spectacular Museum of the Moon, artist Luke Jerram is back with another incredible installation. Prepare to be dazzled and humbled at the same time, when you gaze at a seven-metre sculpture of the Earth. This detailed installation, known as Gaia, will be displayed at St Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne, from late April to the end of June.
Gaia, an awe-inspiring installation in Melbourne
This creation has toured the globe, and has amazed people in stunning public locations, like art museums, science centres and parks. Now, it is coming to St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne. This will be the first time that Gaia will be displayed indoors in Australia. It will be suspended in the central crossing of the Cathedral.
“I’m excited to have an artwork back in Melbourne again, it’s such an exciting and creative city,” said Luke Jerram. “I hope that Gaia will inspire fruitful conversations about climate change and what we, as individuals and wider society, can do to make our lifestyles more sustainable.”
A reminder to care for our blue marble
The Gaia installation was made to convey a sense of just how fragile the planet is. As it hangs in the air, you’ll be able to imagine seeing it as though you were in space. Gaia aims to create a sense of awareness and responsibility for our planet. It truly is our only home, and something that we urgently need to take care of. To highlight the message, this artwork will launch on World Earth Day, on April 22.
Created from NASA images of the Earth’s surface, Gaia stretches out to seven metres in diameter. The installation will rotate once every four minutes, which is 360 times faster than our planet. It will be accompanied by a specially-made composition from BAFTA Award-winning composer Dan Jones, who has collaborated with Jerram for over ten years.
This exhibition will be free to attend during normal Cathedral visiting hours. This sculpture will be displayed at part of the Cathedral’s action to fight against the current climate emergency.
“At St Paul’s Cathedral we have a passion to save the earth from irreversible damage,” said Dr Andreas Loewe, Dean of Melbourne. “I hope that being able to see our beautiful and frail home planet will be an inspiration for many to join us in our own positive climate action here in Australia.”